Anthony Cunningham

Anthony Cunningham
Personal information
Irish name Antaine Ó Cuinneagáin
Sport Hurling
Position Right wing-forward
Born (1965-06-16) 16 June 1965 (age 59)
Peterswell, County Galway, Ireland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Occupation Engineer
Club(s)
Years Club
St Thomas'
Club titles
Galway titles 0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
1984–1993
Galway 15 (3–19)
Inter-county titles
All-Irelands 2
NHL 1
All Stars 0
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 21:40, 4 September 2015.

Anthony Cunningham (born 16 June 1965) is a former hurler who has since managed various Gaelic football and hurling teams. He was manager of the Galway county hurling team between 2011 and 2015 and of the Roscommon county football team between 2018 and 2022. He is the only manager to lead a football team and a hurling team to provincial titles in two different provinces.[1]

Born in Peterswell, County Galway, Cunningham was raised in a hurling stronghold in the south of the county. He was a two-time Connacht medallist at colleges level with Our Lady's College while simultaneously joining the St Thomas' senior club team. Cunningham made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of fifteen when he first linked up with the Galway minor team. An All-Ireland-winning captain in this grade, he later captained Galway to an All-Ireland title with the under-21 team. Cunningham joined the senior panel during the 1983-84 league. He went on to play a key role for Galway in attack during a hugely successful era, and won two All-Ireland medals and one National Hurling League medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on four occasions. As a member of the Connacht inter-provincial team, Cunningham won four Railway Cup medals between 1986 and 1991. Throughout his inter-county career he made 15 championship appearances. Cunningham retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1993 championship.

Equally adept as a coach of both hurling and Gaelic football, Cunningham's first position as manager of the Roscommon senior hurling team was an unsuccessful one. In 2006 he took charge of the St Brigid's football team, guiding them to back-to-back championship titles. Cunningham later guided Garrycastle to an All-Ireland appearance having already secured a Leinster title and three successive championship titles.

In 2009 Cunningham was back as an inter-county manager with the Galway under-21 hurling team. A successful tenure, culminating in the winning of the All-Ireland title, led to Cunningham being appointed manager of the Galway senior team on 27 October 2011. He has since gone on to lead Galway to two All-Ireland final appearances and a Leinster title. He was manager of the Galway senior team from 2011 to 2015.[2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ Breheny, Martin (20 July 2019). "Cunningham leaves Cody frying pan only to land into Gavin fire". Irish Independent. Perhaps, but Cunningham has already achieved more as a dual manager than anyone else, having steered the Galway hurlers to a Leinster title and Roscommon's footballers to Connacht success.
  2. ^ "Anthony Cunningham is back". Hogan Stand. 7 August 1992. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Lifting the lid on the pride of Peterswell". Irish Examiner. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Galway's Golden boy turned General". GAA website. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Loyal servant back with his first love". Irish Times. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2015.